Local Union Executive Board Workshop Guide

Local Union Executive Board Workshop Guide

(based on the SEIU Education Department's guide)

______________

EXECUTIVE BOARD WORKSHOP GUIDE

Notes to Trainers

The workshops contained in this guide can be utilized in entirety as a comprehensive training program or as individual modules. The workshop times are approximate and some of the sections have more than one exercise to choose from. Selecting from these and deciding how much time to allot will vary depending on the scope of the training's objectives, and the size and experience level of the participants.

The following workshops are included:

1. Developing and Using Local Union Mission Statements (2-3 hours) - Purpose of Mission Statements - Personal and Labor Movement Values & Beliefs - Mission Statements and Goals - Local Union Mission Statements - Turning Goals into a Program

2. Clarifying Roles & Responsibilities Within our Union (2-3 hours) - Common Challenges and Pitfalls of Executive Boards - The Role of the Executive Board - Whose Job Is It? (Executive Board, Officers, Staff)

3. Building Group Decision Making Skills (2-3 hours) - Making Decisions as a Group - Consensus Versus Majority Vote - Ground Rules as a Tool

4. Working with Committees (2-3 hours) - Role of the Committee Chair - Committee Goals and Tasks - Committee Recruitment

5. Organizing Productive Meetings (2-3 hours) - Meeting Preparation - Road Map to Meetings That Get Things Done - Resources Needed for Running Productive Meetings

As an Executive Board trainer, you should always conduct a needs assessment with appropriate Local union leaders before implementing the training. This will enable you to:

1) Identify and understand the group 2) Identify any internal political issues that may exist 3) Identify potential obstacles or pitfalls 4) Select essential training components and appropriate resource materials

See the handout "Executive Board Training: Assessment Questions" for specific assessment questions. You may wish to send these questions to the leader(s) before meeting with them.

Scenarios & Exercises

There are several exercises that might need to be tailored to the local. Terms, leadership structures, role of officers, etc. can vary from local to local. It's crucial that you read through the hand-outs and exercises and make the appropriate changes.

This is particularly true of the scenarios used in the workshops. When meeting to discuss the training with local leaders, explain that it would be most useful to present scenarios that are realistic to the E-Board members. The scenarios should somehow relate to confusion/ lack of clarity around the roles of E-Board members, officers and staff. Discuss this issue and try to collaboratively develop an outline for the scenarios.

Also, during the portion of the training focused on group decision making skills, it would be helpful to have some sense of actual decisions that the Board will be grappling with in the near future.

Executive Board Binders

We suggest that prior to the training you work with the local to create a binder for the Board members. This will cut down on the confusion of constantly passing out hand-outs and serve as an ongoing resource at the Local.

What's Not in the Training: Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is not included in this Workshop Guide. However, it is mentioned in the assessment handout. Since strategic planning can often be helpful, local union leaders should be encouraged to schedule future strategic planning sessions if appropriate.

WORKSHOP 1: DEVELOPING & USING LOCAL UNION MISSION STATEMENTS

Length of Workshop: 2.5 to 3.5 hours

Workshop objectives: At the end of the workshop, participants will

? Be familiar with the Local union Mission Statement, Preamble and/or Principles.

? Have made the connection between the Local's Mission Statement and the Local's long term goals (and begun to identify what is needed to carry out those goals).

Preparation for this section

Before leading this workshop:

A. Identify whether the Local has its own Mission Statement. If so, obtain a copy.

B. Post the questions for the small group discussion on mission statements and goals (#4).

Materials used in this section

- Values and Beliefs Exercise - International and/or Local's Mission Statement

WORKSHOP 1 GUIDELINE: 1. Welcome. Introductions. Overview of Agenda.

30 minutes

The Local union president should welcome the Board to the training and introduce the staff leading the training. There are various icebreaker questions that can be used to accompany participant introductions. Some examples are:

? What is the story of your name (or of someone in your family)? ? Describe one strength that you bring to the Executive Board. ? What excites you most about being an Executive Board member? ? What do you think is the biggest challenge about being on the

Executive Board?

There are other questions which are less optional, as they relate more directly to the training. These include:

? How/ why did you become involved with the union? ? Are there other aspects of your life where you've been very active

and/or a "leader"? How do you think these experiences will be useful in your role as an Executive Board member in the union?

? What do you hope to get out of this training?

Following the introductions, give an overview of the agenda, the day's schedule and answer questions. Review any logistical issues and ask the group to briefly set some ground rules/ group norms for the course of the workshop. Chart and post these.

2. Purpose of Mission Statements.

5 minutes

(Note: The time spent utilizing the documents in this workshop will vary depending on

the Board's level of experience and familiarity with the documents.)

Intro:

"As leaders of the union, you need to have a long term vision of what your Local can accomplish and what your Local's role in the larger labor movement is. As leaders you also need to be able to communicate and to organize members around that vision."

"Before we get into the nuts and bolts of what it means to be a board member, we want to talk a little about that vision. This discussion will also bring out issues that need to be covered in more depth in a future strategic planning session."

Ask the group why they think that organizations develop Mission Statements and chart participants' answers. Possible responses include:

(a) they help to define the values and principles of an organization (b) they provide guidelines for how an organization sets goals and makes choices.

3. Values & Beliefs Exercise

45 minutes

30 minutes: Ask participants to complete the first two questions on the "Values and Beliefs" hand-out individually and when finished to share their answers in a small group with 3 to 4 other participants.

15 minutes: Following this, ask the pairs to complete the last question together and to share their answers with the larger group.

4. Small Group Discussion on Mission Statements & Goals 30 minutes

(Note: If the local doesn't yet have a mission statement, it is possible to attain others online (from other local's sites). You can also use this section from the International Union's constitution:

"This International Union is created in order to elevate the social and economic status of workers and, further, to advance the principles and practice of freedom and democracy for all."

The decision to use the International's constitution, the Local's Mission Statement and/or other local's mission statements will also depend on how well developed they are.

The goal of this discussion is to have participants look at the labor movement's overall mission.

Review the Mission Statement with the whole group, answering any questions (and encouraging them to answer each other's questions). Then in the same small groups, have participants answer the following:

? What are the key values expressed in the Mission Statement? ? How are your values and beliefs reflected in the Mission Statement? ? What are issues and/or campaigns that the local has been involved in that

reflect these values?

? How can these values help guide the decisions of the Executive Board?

Report Back: Ask each group to report out on one of the questions. Ask other groups to add anything different.

5. Local Mission Statement

15 minutes

If the Local's Mission Statement was not used, have the Local leader read it and pass out copies and have a brief discussion about how it fits in with the International's Constitution.

6. Turning Goals into a Program

20 minutes

1) On another flip chart post the Local's program goals. Ask a Local leader to provide a quick overview of their goals/programs.

2) Pose the following questions to the group for feedback and discussion:

? How are your Mission Statement and/or long- term goals reflected in your activities?

? As an Executive Board, what steps can be taken to ensure that your Local's mission statement/goals become a reality?

? What will it take to carry out this plan?

7. Wrap-Up:

Tie together the workshop components by highlighting the following points:

? A Local's Mission Statement serves as a foundation of principles guiding the Local in the development of goals, planning and implementation.

? While an awareness of our personal perceptions and individual values is important, as leaders we must try to share a common set of values and beliefs that make us part of a larger union movement.

? Local leaders must develop goals and plans that are based on a common set of Union principles that also reflect the Local union's mission.

? Local leaders must be able to communicate the vision behind the union's Mission Statement and program to the membership.

WORKSHOP 2: CLARIFYING ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES WITHIN OUR UNION

Length of Workshop: 2.5 to 3 hours

Workshop objectives: At the end of the workshop, participants will

? See themselves as leaders and appreciate different leadership qualities.

? Understand the importance of clearly defined roles and responsibilities for E-Board members, officers and union Staff.

? Have identified current E-Board pitfalls and explore solutions to ensure a cohesive and functioning E-Board.

? Have identified and developed ideal roles for local union E-Board members.

? Have practiced developing and communicating our union's message to various audiences (in a manner consistent with appropriate E-Board roles and responsibilities).

Preparation for this section

Before leading this workshop:

A. Identify whether the Local has any current job descriptions or written roles for Officers, E-Board members and/or the Executive Director. Obtain copies of each.

B. Chart the main points in the hand-out, Qualities of Leadership".

C. Chart the items listed on the "Common Challenges and Pitfalls of Executive Boards" hand-out for use in the Responsible Board exercise (#2).

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download